Heating system for storage tanks



May 14, 1929. I

J. c. cooK HEATING SYSTEM FOR STORAGE TANKS Filed DSO. 23 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 14, 19u29. I J, c, cooK HEATING sYsTEu Fon STORAGE 'mms 2 l Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed D86. 23, 1927 Patented May 14,1929. l

f UNITED STATES- PATENT `-oi-l-"icia JESSE c. oooigoi` JEFFEnsoNviLLE, immane, Assienon 'ro AivrnnrcAN cnnosoTiNG COMPANY, OIEv LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY,`A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

. HEATING srs'rnivi roRsTonAGE '.iiiiaxs.V

Application filed December 23,l 192'?.r vSerial No. 242,258.k

This invention relates to heating systems for storage tanks'and particularlyto systems for use with tanks in which-viscous liquids such as creosoteptar or theA like vare stored.

Storage tanks for creosote, tar and like liquids which are viscous at ordinary atmospheric temperatures, and which become solid, and in some cases deposit out crystals at lower temperatures, must receive heat from an vexternal source, to bring the contents oi the tank back to a liquid state. One method of supplying this heat is to have coils built up of pipe and fittings placed in the-tank with connections through vthe shell of the tank to introduceV steam into the coils. To prevent damage to the coils from freezing when they are vnot in use, drainage must be provided so that all condensed steam may tlow'out.- vWith some systems the coil designs have required a considerable elevation of portions of the coils toprovide the necessary drainage'. Systems of this type are open to the serious objection that the space below the coils heats very' slowly, and the solid and crystalline material which forms at low temperatures settles out into this poorlyy heated space.

The amountof material in storage varies from time to time lbut the tanks are entirely emptied onlyk at relatively long intervals. ,It

a leak Idevelops in the coils, condensed steam will mix with the contentsot the tank, and such admixtures are usually very undesirable. Itis therefore a distinct advantage to have more than one heating system in the tank, but

U the duplication of known systems would aggravate the diiiiculties experienced in heating the material at the base of the tank.A

- An obj ect of the invention is to provide an eicient heating system which may be posiytioned very close to the bottom of the tank.k

A further object is to provide a heating system composed of two independent heating units, the construction being such that'both heatingzsystems cover the entire tank bottom, and are arranged in the same'plane.v

These and other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following 'specification, when taken with the accompanying drawings, in'which.v Y l Fig.' 1 is a plan View of the heating system as' arranged in the bottom oi' a tank, Fig. 2 is a fragmentary'verticall section through the bottom of the tank, the heating systembeingv shown in elevation, v

l Fig. 3 is a similar fragmentary vertical section taken on l1ne-3-3 ol' Fig. 2,

Fig. l is a. fragmentary vertical section showing the connection of the heating 1pipes to the headers, Y f.

Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken at right ..50

angles to Fig. 4, i. e., in the plane or the steam header and return header, y Y l Fig. 6 is a vertical section through one of theldouble heating pipes, and

Figs. 7 and Sshow 'otherarrangements for carrying the return headers through the shell oftheA tank. i

In the drawings, the numeral 1 indicates the shell a vertically arranged cylindrical tank in which. the heating system is arranged.

`The heating system is madeup of'two independent units oft similar design, either one 7 of which may be employed to liquify the contents ol the tank. -The steam headers A, A or the two systems are preferably parallel to each other, and, as shown in Fig. 2, are arranged at the'same level. The cold steam or r water i-eturnheaders B,B are arranged in the` vertical planes of, and below the respective steam headers. The two headers of the respective units are made up from a series of ec centric ordouble passage cross ittings 2 and short sections 3 of pipe, the fittings andfpipe beingl provided with suitable right and left hand threads to permit the assembly 'of the headersystem. As shown in Fig.- 5, each duplex cross 2 has an upper passage 4 and a lower passage 5, which passages extend through the cross and cooperate with pipe 'sections 3 to form the continuous inlet and outlet headers. A chamber 6 extends below theupper passage 4 and is provided with threaded openingstor receiving steam pipes 7 which extend in opposite directions'and at right angles to the plane of the headers. Steam pipes 7 are located within, and-their open ends terminate short of the outer closed ends of return pipes 8 which are threaded into the walls of the chamber 9 of the cross. Return lflow chamber 9 surrounds i the inlet chamber Gand communicates with the outlet passage V5 or the return header system. To center the steam inletpipes 7 within thereturn pipes 8 of the heater system, the pipes 7 arey provided with a series of legs or supports l0. The supports l0 permit water of condensation to flow freely to the return header, i

and rapid heating may therefore Vbe obtained unit may pass between the upper and lower connecting pipes of the headers of the other unit. rllhis permits the placing of both sets of heating pipes at the saine level, as shown in Fig. 2.

The steam inlet pipes 11, 11 enter the shell of the tank approximately at right angles to,

and opposite the center of the headers A, A. Each inlet pipe delivers steam into a cross pipe, 12, 12, respectively, from which steam f j is passed to spaced points in the headers by a is put out of operation.

series of feed pipes 13, 13, respectively. The several pipes forming the steam inlet system are arranged at levelsfabove the headers and are supported upon suitable brackets, such as angle irons 1li mounted upon blocks or plates 15.l

The steam inlet pipes are preferably arranged to drain towards the headers .to remove Wat-er of condensation when the system The supports for the heating pipes 7, 8 may conveniently take theform of structural bars 16 carried by Wooden blocks 15. Theheating pipes 7, 8, andthe outlet headers may be given a slight slope to promote drainage, by appropriate variation in the thickness of blocks 15, or the pipes may be placed in a horizontal plane, as the method of assembly avoids the formation of `pockets in which water of condensation may collect.V

In one installation, the groups of heating pipes 8, 8 at each side of the headers were given a slope of one-quarter inch in fourteen feet, andthe outflow pipes 7, 7 were arranged horizontally by suitable variation in the lengths of the supports 10. The heating system has functioned satisfactorily and water ofcondensation has not collected to any appreciable extent in the heating circuits or headers.

The last pipe sections 3, 3 of the outlet headers B, B are threaded into flanged fittings 17, 17 which are riveted to the shell 1 of the tank, the bores of the'fittings being also tappeti from the outer side to receive outlet or return pipes 18, 18.

As illustrated in Fig. 7, the flanged fittings to which the outlet headers are connected may be secured to the bottom wall of the tank instead of the side wall, as shown in F ig. 3. This arrangement, and also that of the special angle fitting 19, Fig. 8, permits the bottom ,headers to'be arranged somewhat closer to the bottom ofthe tank. When the angle fitting 19 ifziaees is employed, thesteam outlet pipes 18, 18 may be tapped into the vertical or horizontal portion of the fitting. As shown in Fig. 8, the pipe 18 for outlet header B is tapped into the base of the fitting 19, while the pipe 18: for header B is tapped into the side of the corresponding fitting 19.

lt will be'apparent that the invention is not limited to the use of any particular number of heating units as the heating pipes of additional units could kbe located at the same level as the illustrated heating pipes 8, 8,. While the invention is particularly useful in the heating of tanks having flat bottoms it may be applied as well to tanks having convex or concave bottoms.

It will be obvious that various changes may be made in the parts, their relative size, shape and relation without ldeparting lfrom the spirit of the invention as set forth in the following claims.

l claim :V f

1. In a heating system, anv inlet header, an outlet header positionedat a level belowV said inlet header, said headers each comprising a plurality of aligned pipe sections, and pipe fittings to which the pipe sections of both headers are connected, said fittings each having chambers forming parts of the respective headers and adapted to receive an outflow and return heating pipe, respectively.

2. ln a tank heating system, an inlet header, an outlet headerk below said inlet header, a fitting mechanically connecting and having chambers communicating with the respective headers, the walls of said chambers having tapped openings at substantially the same level for receiving outflow and'return heating pipes, wherein the chamber communicating with the inlet header is located within the outlet header chamber, and the tapped opening of said first chamber is of less diameter than and coaxial with the tapped opening of the outlet header chamber.

- 3. ln a tank heating system, vertically alined inlet and outlet headers each comprising a plurality of pipe sections, and a series of duplex cross fittings cooperating with the pipe sections to form the said headers and to mechanically connect the said headers to each other, each of said duplex cross fittings having chambers communicating with the-respective headers, and the wallsof said chambers having tapped openings for receiving pairs of outflow and returnpipes, respectively.

4. The invention as set forth in `claim 3, wherein the outflow'chamber of each fitting is surrounded by the return flow chamber thereof, and thetapped openings of said outflow chamber are of less diameter than =and coaxial with the tapped openings of said re- -turn flow chamber, whereby the4 outflow yand return pipes may be located at the same level. 5. ln a tank heating system, a pair of inlet headers and outlet headers, the outlet headers being in vertical alinement with therespective inlet headers and the corresponding headers of each pair being in horizontal alinement, a plurality of outflow and. return heating pipes associated with the respective inletv and outlet headers, said heating pipes all lying substantially in a horizontal plane which passes between said inlet headers and said outlet headers. c

6. In a tank heating system, a'plurality of horizontally alined inlet headers, an outlet header beneath each inlet header, means for supplying a heating fluid to each of said inlet headers, each inlet header and its associated outlet header comprising a plurality of pipe sections arrangedin two vertically spaced groups and duplex cross fittings connecting the pipe sections of each group to form the said headers, saidA duplex cross fittings-each having an outflow and return chamber communicating with the respective associated headers, the walls of said chambers having tapped openings kat the same level, and a closed heating circuit connected between the tapped openings of each cross fitting and comprising pipes located at the same level.

7. The invention as set forthin claim 6, whereinl each inlet header and its associated outlet header are spaced apart to permit the pipes of heating circuits associated with an-k other pair of headers to Vpass ybetween the same.

8. In a tank heating system,'a plurality of pipe sections arranged in two vertically spaced groups, the sections of ,eachy group being located in substantiallya single horizontal plane, a plurality ol fittings connected to the pipe sections of both groups and cooperating therewith to form a pair of headers,

f means for introducing a heating medium into ychambers communicating with the respective headers, the chamber opening into the upper header being enclosed by the chamber opening into the lower header, and a closed heating circuit extending from each side of said v fittings, each ofxsaid heating circuits comprising a return flow pipe having a closed outer end and having an inner end communieating with the return flow chamber of' its associated fitting, and an open-ended outflow pipe communicating with the Aoutflow chamber of the said'asso'ciated fitting, said outflow pipe being arranged within and spaced from the walls of said return flow pipe. l

9. In a tank heating system, a duplex cross fitting comprising walls defining a pair of parallel spaced passages therethrough, the Vwalls adjacent the ends of said'passages being threaded to receive header pipes, walls definingk chambers extending from each of. said passages towards the other passage and 65 one of said chambers lying within the other chamber, the walls of said chambers being provided with axially alined tapped openings for receiving the ends of a heating circuit. a

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature.

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